Italy Seeks to Pass UN Resolution Condemning Coerced Abortions for Population Control

The Italian Parliament voted today to promote a United Nations resolution condemning the use of abortion for population control purposes, according to local and international news sources.

The legislation gives Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi permission for “the promotion … of a resolution in the United Nations that condemns the use of abortion as an instrument of demographic control and affirms the right of each woman not to be constrained to have an abortion, favoring policies that help to remove the economic and social causes of abortion.”

“We are all in agreement that, in any case, abortion is an evil. But we are always divided between those who support life and those who support choice, ” said Rocco Buttiglione, leader of the political party that proposed the measure. “The hour has come for all of us together to fight against those who are against life and those who are against choice.”

Leftist opposition parties, which are currently in the minority, reportedly voted against the measure or abstained.

Italy’s decision to reject forced abortions for population control, however, is in contradiction to its policy of donating millions of dollars annually to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), an organization that has helped to create and sustain China’s infamous “One Child Policy.” China routinely uses forced abortions on women who have exceeded the maximum number of children permitted. A recent on-the-ground investigation by the Population Research Institute found that, despite assurances otherwise, UNFPA’s “model districts” in China continue to use coercive measures, including forced abortion, to implement the one child policy. UNFPA has also been involved in forced sterilization programs worldwide.

The news that Italy will push for a condemnation of forced abortions comes at the same time that local media are reporting a 50% decline in the Italian abortion rate since 1984.